You can't run away from everything, my love
by Mortimer Van-Wyke
Summary: Mr. Todd runs a barber shop above Mrs. Lovett's meat pie shop.But this isn't as innocent as it seems...the only ones who know the truth are Mrs. Lovett and Jean Hanibal,who isn't who he appears, either...T for violence, language and sexual themes. HAITUS
1. forward

**Hello everybody! It's finally time for my first chapter! So far, this isn't looking like much of a fanfic.**

**Don't worry. The rest of the characters will come in soon. yes, I know it's short. it's a forward.  
**

**Enjoy~**

**_Forward_  
**

I let the bloody rope slide from my hand as I admired the scene.

My entire household... My mother, My father, my brother, my sisters, the household staff

- all laying pale and lifeless on the drawing room floor, with bright red, bloody rope burns circling their broken necks.

It was beautiful, like a dream. like the reoccurring dream I'd dreamt every night until now, but this was true, these people had put me through hell and back, and now I had gotten rid of them. Every single bloody last one of them.

Quietly, I slithered out of the tiny, black room into the hall, and started towards my brother Hans's room. I had this all planned out before I committed the deed:

Do it quickly and quietly, grab some clothes, cut my hair, pick their pockets and get out. Head out towards London. Be rid of them forever.

I grasped my brother's door handle and turned in slowly. The dim light of the hallway filled Hans's vacant room. There was nothing in it but a small bed and a cherry wood wardrobe lined up next to a small, open window with silk curtains. I hesitantly took one step onto the polished wooden floor. Click! My shaky footstep echoed through the bare room. I quickly headed towards the wardrobe and opened the bottom drawer. I grabbed the lacing on the top of my blood soaked tea dress and pulled it undone. I undid the abalone buttons below, and let it fall to the floor. I grabbed a pair of my brother's pinstriped pants and black suspenders and pulled them over my legs. Then I undid my undershirt and replaced it with my brother's huge, brown work shirt. I quickly buttoned it up and placed a dark navy blue cravat over the collar.

I closed that drawer and grabbed his gray jacket and over coat as I headed out of the room and up to the hall to my sister Sarah's room next door. I headed straight to her dresser and grabbed the pair of silver scissors she kept in the chest upon it. I took a few second to admire my long, silky, brown hair in the mirror before I sheered it straight off. It felt like a shame… but not really. I took a deep breath, and bunched my hair up in one fist. I closed my eyes.

Shink!

I watched 8 inches of my hair fall to the dusty floor. I turned my head to the mirror. My hair barely covered my ears now. Oh well, it was for the best. I trimmed off a few uneven edges and tucked on side behind my ear. It was short enough. I looked different. Now it was time to grab my dad's money and start my trek out of the country side and into the city of London. As I wandered down the gloomy hall, I pondered on my actions…

I was running away from murder. I couldn't use the same name anymore… or gender, to be safe. I was Estel FritzHouston, a tall, pale 23 year old girl. The moment I left the house I would become Jean Hanibal, a sweet, naïve 25 year old man. It just seemed right to me at the moment, though it would take some getting used to. I was lucky that my tiny chest was easy to hide. I reached into my father's pocket and drew a few coins to slip into my own. I turned, left the drawing room, and headed towards the front room. As I approached the doors in the front, I smirked to myself (though there was no one to see it anyways.) "Jean Hanibal." I whispered to myself. I couldn't help but giggle. "Jean Hanibal"

It sounded so right.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hooray. A first chapter. Are you so filled with joy that you can hardly contain it? No? Me neither.**

**It's poorly written and intensely short. But, hey, it's fanfiction. That is to be expected.**

**Not much happens here, guys….**

A large ship stopped in a murky dock. On board, a young man with long brown hair stepped onto the bow. He sighed.

"I have sailed the world and beheld it's many wonders, from the likes of the Dardanelles to the breathtaking view atop the mountains of Peru, but there is no place like London."

Another man stepped out from the shadows behind him. "No, there's no place like London." He said coldly.

The younger man looked concerned.

"Mister Todd?" he asked. Mister Todd looked back upon the gloomy, gray city below, almost to ignore him.'

"You are young, Antony. This world has been kind to you. You will learn." Mister Todd murmured something under his breath while walking down the board walk onto the cold streets of London.

"I too have been around the world, Antony. But the cruelty people show you here far passes any of that." He shuddered.

"These streets are filled with ghosts." Antony turned to him expectantly "Ghosts, Mister Todd?"

"Memories from the past." Mister Todd turned away, and began to examine the streets before them. "once, Antony," he began, catching the young man's attention again.

"there was a barber and his wife." He paused, and looked down. "she was….his purpose and meaning in everything he did. She was beautiful. But there was another man who saw this, Antony. A judge. He sent the barber away, and…."

"and what, Mister Todd? Did she fall for it? The wife?"

He swallowed hard. "that was so long ago, Antony. I doubt that any one knows…" He looked back up to Antony. "I'm lucky you found me out there. If not for you, I'd still be lost at sea."

Antony smiled "yes, yes. These past few days, I've come to think of you as a friend, Mister Todd. Do you think I will ever see you again?"

Mister Todd took a step forward. "yes… around fleet street, I'd imagine."

/

I took another step forward on the craggy, corroded ground. I'd been walking for hours, and I was getting extremely exhausted. I could see a dock up ahead, though. One belonging to that of my glorious destination called London. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I'd just spent an hour literally wringing people's necks. Could god not cut me a little slack?

Seems not.

I wandered further and further into London. It didn't seem as wonderful as I remembered it being on my last visit. It seemed gray…and cold.

I wandered around aimlessly for a bit, just taking in the sights. Nothing seemed to jump out at me. Ah, well. I was here to hide. I needed to find a place to stay overnight.

My stomach growled. I was famished from walking all those miles. Before loft, I needed to find something to eat. _lots_ of something to eat.

There were a few fruit stands around, but what caught my eye was a tiny, little shop nestled into a cranny at the end of the street.

_**Mrs Lovett's Meat pie shop**_

I felt myself drool a bit. Real meat? In the middle of London? What a joke. But, it was worth a shot.

I felt my feet desperately carrying me towards my source of food. But I wasn't watching where I was going.

Smack!

I felt myself falling. I hit the ground with a thud. I shook my head and opened my eyes. A rather displeased looking man was staring down at me.

"s-sorry, sir! M'lord! My apologies! My deepest, sir!" I whimpered in my best boy voice. He shook his head.

"shit bag." He grunted.

I sprung up, appalled. "excuse me, sir?"

"_Shit. Bag_." He said a bit louder. I rolled my eyes.

"you too, sir…whatever you mean."

He exhaled unhappily, and reached for the door handle. I gulped. He was going in there, too?

Okay, maybe this place _was_ legit.

No sooner had the door been opened, did the lady manning the till run to it.

"Customers?" she yelled frantically, grabbing us both by the arms, and throwing us into chairs at a small table. "One moment! What's the rush, sirs? No hurry! You scared me half to death!" The man beside me tried to get up.

"Sit!" she yelled insistently, shooting him a dirty look. He did as he was told.

She ran back up to the oven. " 'aven't seen a customer for weeks, y'know?" she pulled a tray of fresh pies from the oven. "I've been trying, I swear, but these are quite possibly the worst pies in London."

Okay, maybe this place _isn't_ legit.

She turned again. "take a bite, sirs?" she offered. We did.

It was like a thousand rabbit cats threw up and died in my mouth. It _was_ terrible. But food. I took another bite.

It seemingly only contained two things: corn flour and pork gristle. But I may be wrong. It could have been lard, too. I tried to sustain my gag reflex.

The lady gave me a look of pity. " 'scustin' ain't it?" she poured two cups of ail and handed them to us. We chucked them back immediately.

"y'know," she continued, "my competitor up the street there, Mrs. Mooney, I hear she is makin' her pies out of cats. Makes you sick, don't it?"

I reluctantly shook my head.

"but,"

Oh god, she was still talking.

"I _do_ try. But it's hard for a woman alone, y'know." She tried to look forlorn.

"Ah, sirs. Times is hard."

"times are hard, ma'am." I repeated, chucking back the last of the cup of ail.

"times are very hard, indeed."

**remember guys, leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter. (unlikely)  
**

**new chapters will be up every week or so!  
**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey everybody! New (short) chapter :D**

**I've finally decided to start going from the script instead of memory. I'm sure the story will be a lot more accurate and enjoyable. Be warned, though, this is a plug in fanfic… following the original plot with an OC stuck in there! And I'm only doing this scene by scene, so it's a little short! **

**It's a little bumpy right now, but I'm sure it'll pick up soon! Main plot, here I come! Hya!**

"Trust me, sirs, it's going to take more than ale to wash that taste out. Come with me and we'll get you two a nice tumbler or so a gin."

The lady gestured us both kindly towards her loft in the back of the store. I shook my head and stood up.

"I'm quite sorry, ma'am, but I ought to be on my way."

I turned and began to head towards the door.

"g'day, sir." She said sweetly, leading the man towards the door in the back.

I opened the front door and stepped outside into the cold evening air. It was just starting to get dark. In most cases, the world becomes a bit more beautiful at night, but in London's case, It just made it darker and drearier….

And every alleyway a bit deeper and more unsettling. I shivered.

I took a few steps forward on the soggy ground. Now I was off to find a place to stay.

/

Mrs. Lovett lead Sweeney into her small parlor behind the shop. There were things littering the floors, and piles upon piles of various dolls, bottles and plants covering the shelves.

"Isn't this homey now? Me cheery wallpaper was a real bargain too, it being only partly singed when the  
chapel burnt down ..."

She pushed a few objects out of the way on a desk and found a half empty bottle of Gin. She handed to him.

He took of the cap and took an enormous swig. She led over beside a the fire and sat him down.

"There's a good boy, now you sit down and warm your bones, love. you look chilled through."

He wiped his mouth and sat the small bottle down on a table beside them.

"Isn't that a room over the shop? If times are so hard, why don't you rent it out?"

She glanced upwards, towards the roof.

"Up there? Oh, no one will go near it... everyone think it's haunted."

Sweeney eyed her strangely. "haunted?" she stared right back.

"And who's to say they're wrong? ... You see, years ago, something happened up there. Something not very nice..." She paused. Sweeney peered back up at her.

"there was a barber once, and he had this wife. He was a wonderful barber, but they transported him for life…. His name was Benjamin Barker."

Sweeney swallowed nervously. "transported? For what crime?"

"foolishness." Mrs. Lovett stared sadly into the fire.

"He had this wife, you see… pretty little thing. But there was this judge, he wanted her madly… and he tricked her….poor thing…"

She paused and swallowed.

"and one day, she was invited to this party… here, this terrible judge… he forced himself upon her… there was no one around she knew, and she just wandered around lost… and afraid… she just kept looking for him. Every one just stood an laughed, the poor soul…"

Sweeney shot up. "NO! would they not have mercy on her?"

Mrs. Lovett looked at him in shock.

"so it is you… Benjamin Barker…"

"Where's Lucy? Where's my wife?" He walked towards Mrs. Lovett. She gulped.

"She poisoned herself. Arsenic from the apothecary on the corner. I tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen to me. And he's got your daughter."

"He? Judge Turpin?"

"Adopted her like his own…" Sweeney winced.

"Fifteen years of sweating in a living hell on a false charge. Fifteen years dreaming that I might come home to find a loving wife and child..."

He stared angrily into the fire, looking almost if about to cry.

"Well, I can't say the years have been particularly kind to you, Mr. Barker, but you still—"

"No, not Barker." Sweeney interrupted, "That man is dead. It's Todd now. Sweeney Todd ... And he will have his revenge. Judge Turpin and the Beadle will pay for what they did."

He turned to Mrs. Lovett.

"First I must have my shop back."

/

A young girl, about 16, walked past me. she paused for a moment.

"Harris? Is that you?" she asked quietly.

I stopped walking and turned.

"excuse me, ma'am?"

She turned to face me.

"oh, sorry… I thought you were someone else, sir... do forgive me."

I smiled and continued walking.

"wait…" She stopped me again. I turned again, a bit annoyed.

"excuse me, sir… but do you work around here? I could have sword that I have seen around these parts before."

I giggled to myself. She was trying to spark a conversation. How cute.

"uh… yes. I stay at the pie shop across the street, there. Mrs. Lovett's. I work there too."

I almost covered my mouth. I was speaking without thinking.

She smiled.

"really? Well, I'll be sure to stop by sometime soon, sir!"

I swallowed hard. "yes, ma'am."

She laughed and continued walking. I sighed.

Actually, that wasn't a half bad idea. A shop in that condition surely needed a little help, and not many people came around.

It was perfect. I could hide there, with little risk of being caught.

I must be a genius!

**Woohoo! Main plot!**

**Remember, if you enjoyed my chapter, leave a review.**

**Do it.**

**New chapters soon!**


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